


When Henry Met Mally

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Series: Annealed [9]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First Meetings, Mild Language, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 21:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14144781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: It's September 6, 2001, and Mal is waiting at home as Regina is finally going to bring their son home from the adoption agency





	When Henry Met Mally

**Author's Note:**

  * For [trinadeckers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinadeckers/gifts).



> Date Written: 5 February - 29 March 2018  
> Word Count: 2483  
> Written for: trinaadeckers  
> Prompt: [The first time Mal meets Henry](https://twitter.com/trinaadeckers/status/960518691069800448)  
> Summary: It's September 6, 2001, and Mal is waiting at home as Regina is finally going to bring their son home from the adoption agency.  
> Spoilers: Pre-series canon divergent AU of the entire series, but anything we know about Regina & Maleficent still holds mostly true.  
> Warnings: No standard warnings apply.  
> Series: Annealed  
> Website: ShatterStorm Productions – Doggie Duo  
> Link to: http://bdkk.shatterstorm.net/  
> Archive: ShatterStorm Productions & AO3 only…all others ask for permission & we'll see…  
> Feedback: Constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> Author’s Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This was written for Carissa's birthday gift. My apologies for it taking so long, but I have asshole muses, to say the least. That said, the title of this fic came to me pretty early on, and I still giggle over the pun of it. But I got their first meeting done, and there will be so much more to come for this little family…
> 
> Dedication: My muses, as usual…
> 
> Beta: theonlyspl, but if you catch something we've missed, please let me know!

"You call me the minute you get there, Regina."

She chuckles softly and leans up to kiss Mal's lips. It soothes Mal more than she expects, but she can still feel Regina's racing heartbeat. "You worry too much, my darling. It's a little over three hours to get there. I've planned for five, in case I hit traffic or roadwork on the way. Mr. Dugan said that the paperwork and handoff shouldn't take more than an hour. He has the car seat and a small bag of the baby's things. Once all of that is done, I'll put him in the car and bring our boy home. I should be back before you close up shop for the night."

Mal lets out a strained laugh, scratching at the back of her neck. "I don't know how much work I'll even get done today. I'm gonna be worried about you and our boy."

"We'll be fine, Mal." Neither of them is exactly sure who she's supposed to be reassuring, nor do they care. "Even figuring for traffic, it shouldn't be more than twelve hours round trip. If I absolutely have to, I'll stop somewhere and spend the night in a motel. But that is a _huge_ longshot. Our little boy needs to know both of us from his first night at home on."

"Yes, he does." Mal swallows and pulls her into a tight hug. "Kitten, you know I want to go with you, but--"

Regina's finger presses to her lips, cutting her off. "Shh, it's okay, Mal. I understand. You stay here and do what you need to do. You have the key to the mansion, so I expect you to go wait over there for us, understand?"

"I understand, Kitten," she replies with a soft smile. "I have something for the baby. I'll bring it over to the house."

"Should I bring it with me?"

Mal shakes her head. "No, I want to give it to him myself. A special present from his…" She pauses then, unsure of what to call herself. They've only discussed it in the vaguest of terms. "Mally," she finally says with a shy grin. "A special present from his Mally."

"His Mally?" Regina asks, and Mal tenses in preparation for the teasing she knows is coming. Instead, she smiles and strokes Mal's cheek. "Mama and Mally. I like it."

"Me, too." Mal glances at the clock and frowns, the nerves kicking in again, but she tries to stay strong. "You should get going, Kitten. You need to bring our boy home."

*****

She answers the phone before it even gets to the second ring. "Kitten?"

The chuckle that echoes across the phone eases her nervousness a bit. "Did the phone even _ring_ on your end?"

"Yes! I waited until the second ring. Well, almost." She clears her throat, fighting the inevitable blush at being called out so perfectly. "So you made it to Boston okay?" She can hear the faint sounds of traffic in the background, wondering where Regina is calling from. 

"I did. There was a little traffic once I got into downtown Boston, but I managed to remember the way almost completely. Only had to check my directions once. I'm at a gas station nearby fueling up the car now, then I'll go park and head up to Mr. Dugan's office. I'll make sure to call you on my way out of town, so you'll have a better idea of when we'll be home."

"Please do. I worry about both of you."

She can hear the smile in Regina's words. "Just one more reason why I love you, my darling Mal."

"I love you, too, Kitten. Hey, do you want me to pick up something from Granny's for dinner? I don't want you to have to cook after all that driving today."

"I have salad fixings in the fridge, both a green salad and a fruit salad, and deli meat for sandwiches. Just something simple. I'm going to do a bigger shopping run tomorrow, once I have more details on the baby's formula and such."

"Okay, I'll throw together some dinner when you get home."

There's a pause and Mal hears Regina talking to someone in the background. "Okay, Mal, I need to go. The car's all gassed up and I have drinks in that little cooler for the way home. I promise I'll call as soon as we're ready to hit the road."

"All right. Don't forget to tell him that his Mally is waiting to meet him."

"I won't forget. Love you, Mal."

"Back atcha, Kitten. Talk to you soon."

*****

By the time Regina calls her again, another two hours have passed. Mal gives up all pretense of trying to work. She doesn't have any current commissions and has more than enough stock to fill the storefront for another week or two at least. So, rather than risk ruining anything she works on, she takes the time to close up the shop and feed the feral tribe. She packs a small bag with her gift for the baby and her basket of dirty laundry, then tosses them on the passenger seat of her Jeep before heading over to the mansion. The drive is short and sweet, but she still feels every bit as nervous as the first time she spent the night there.

Letting herself in, like she has a million times already, there's an air of expectancy that sends a shiver down her spine. Her life is going to change so drastically now. Both of their lives, and the baby's, too. She prays that this doesn't end up blowing up in their faces like when they nearly adopted their little girl almost a year ago. But they never even got to see that little girl. Regina is driving home right now with their little boy. This should mean that the paperwork is all signed and filed and finalized; they have their family finally. The next time Regina walks in that front door, she won't be alone, and then they'll always have another person to consider in everything they do.

That stops her in her tracks, laundry basket falling to the floor in front of her. It's no longer just her, or just her and Regina. Even with as long as she's been with Regina, she knows that she can still cut and run if her anxiety gets too strong. But Regina's bringing home a baby now, a baby they _both_ wanted, and they'll never be just Mal and Regina again. They'll always be Mally and Mama for the rest of their lives. Mal drops to her knees next to the basket, clutching the rim as she struggles to breathe deeply and get herself back under control. It takes longer than she feels it probably should, but eventually the fear passes and she can get up and head toward the laundry room again. 

Laundry started, she grabs the bag and heads upstairs to the nursery. The door is partially ajar, and she presses the flat of her hand to it until it opens enough to let her in. Gone are the greens and purples that once adorned the walls, replaced in thick stripes of blue. No longer a unisex room, as if Regina had feared the lack of choosing an appropriate color scheme had lost them their daughter. Everything about this room screams little boy, and Mal finds herself oddly missing the original colors and their open possibilities.

She moves across the room to settle in the rocking chair, sighing softly at how comfortable it is. Her eyes drift shut as she cradles the bag in her arms, imagining that the bag is actually their boy. It both terrifies and comforts her by turns, but she can't wait to meet him. Regina had said she had a name picked out for him already, partially based on things they'd discussed and partially based on intuition the second she held him in her arms.

*****

The salads are made, flavors marrying in their containers alongside dishes of chocolate pudding setting in the refrigerator. Her second load of laundry is in the dryer, the first folded in her basket, and a load of towels is in the washer. Everything is ready for their boy's homecoming. All she has to do now is wait for her lover's car to pull into the driveway. Glancing out the kitchen window again, she smiles as she sees the black Mercedes doing just that. Instead of getting out of the car once it's turned off, she sees Regina sitting there for a moment. Then her phone rings.

"Hey, Kitten," she says, fear coloring the excitement in her words. "What are you doing sitting in the car? What happened?"

"Nothing, Mal," Regina replies and waves at her. "I just wanted to make sure you were ready before we came inside. We'll be right in."

Mal ends the call and practically bounces to the front door, opening it to wait as Regina gets out of the car, slinging a blue diaper bag over her shoulder before moving around to get the car seat and cooler from the passenger seat. She smiles brightly as she moves closer to her lover and pauses long enough to brush her lips across Mal's before stepping inside.

"Is he--?"

"He's asleep, and has been since about five minutes into the drive home. Come on, we'll take him into the kitchen for the moment so you can meet him."

Mal follows her, making sure to lock the door behind her first. She can't deny the butterflies that have taken flight in her gut again, or that she feels faintly queasy, but she's not going to pussy out on something this important. Stepping into the kitchen, she sees Regina has set the car seat on the island next to the bag with her gift for their baby boy. She smiles at Mal, pushing the cooler and diaper bag aside.

This gives Mal the opportunity to see him finally. Logically, she knows he will be a tiny baby, given both his age and the size of his car seat, but logic is irrelevant in the face of _actually_ seeing him. "Oh my god, he's so tiny!" 

Regina chuckles. "Yes, he is. But he'll grow so quickly. We need to cherish this time, Mal." She smiles and bumps shoulders with Mal. "So, you want to know his name before or after you hold him?"

"H-Hold him?" She feels her mouth go dry at the prospect and shakes her head. "Oh no, babe, that's not a good idea. I'm all dirty and I'll just drop him and just no."

"You're just nervous, darling," Regina replies and leans up to brush a gentle kiss to her lips. "It'll be okay, I promise. You can stand to hold him or you can have a seat on a stool, but you're going to hold our son, Malinda."

She scowls at the name, even though it's said gently, then takes a deep breath at the realization that her lover is right. This is ridiculous to feel so silly about holding their boy. It's all she's wanted to do all damned day! She slips onto the stool next to the car seat and reaches out to hold his little foot sticking out from under the blanket. "Are you sure you want to do this, Regina? He's sleeping so peacefully."

"He'll be fine and so will you." With a move that looks more polished and practiced to Mal than expected, Regina lifts the baby into her arms and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. She rocks him for a moment, then smiles brightly at Mal. "Hold out your arms like I'm holding him." As soon as Mal has mimicked her pose, she shifts to settle the baby in her arms. "Mal, I'd like you to meet Henry Daniel Mills. Henry, my sleepy little prince, this is your other mom--"

"Mally," Mal whispers, already smitten with the sleepy baby in her arms. That powdery scent and the warm little body nestled against her chest just feel _right_. She starts to speak when he suddenly yawns and stretches, then slowly blinks his little eyes open to stare up at her. She literally feels her heart swelling in her chest with love for their little boy. "Hello, Henry. I'm your Mally. Your mama and I are going to make sure that you never have to feel alone or unloved for the rest of your life." He flails his hand a bit and she strokes his cheek with a finger. "I have a special present for you, my little man. Regina, can you grab it?"

Regina reaches into the bag and pulls out a furry green and purple dragon. She coos at the sight of it, making Mal realize she picked the perfect gift. "Mal, it's adorable."

"It is." She holds out her free hand to take the dragon and hold it in front of Henry, tickling his nose with its snout. "This is your new best friend, Henry. You can name him when you're older, but he's full of love from Mally and Mama, so you always have us with you, okay?"

Henry lets out a squeaky coo and yawns, hands flailing against the dragon. They watch as he drifts off to sleep again in Mal's arms, the dragon against his belly and his little hands resting on the soft plush.

"You are a natural, darling," Regina says softly and kisses her temple. Mal just smiles and stares at the baby in her arms, unwilling to give him up to put back in his car seat or take him up to his crib. "How about we go upstairs and have a little snuggle session with Henry in our bed? We can put him in the bassinette when we're ready to sleep ourselves?"

Mal nods and shifts to stand carefully. "Will he have enough formula to last until tomorrow? When does he need to eat next?"

"There's a can of formula in the diaper bag and two bottles premade in the cooler that I'll put in the fridge before we head up. Hang on." She puts the bottles in the fridge and sets the formula can on the counter. "We'll go tomorrow to get more bottles and formula, and anything else we think we need for Henry. For now, I just want to bond with our boy."

"Me, too. You named him after your dad, didn't you?"

"I did. It just felt right when I looked into those soulful little eyes of his. You don't mind, do you?"

Mal grins and kisses her. "Not at all. It suits him perfectly, and I've always liked the name Daniel."

"I know. I wanted you to have some say in his name, and Daniel Henry didn't sound right, you know?"

"You picked perfectly, Kitten. Henry is perfect."

**Author's Note:**

> Mal's gift to Henry
> 
>  
> 
>   
> [Source](http://www.melissaanddoug.com/zephyr-green-dragon-stuffed-animal/7570.html)  
> 


End file.
